Back on campus to be honoured Friday, opera star and Western music grad Adrianne Pieczonka was looking back and gazing ahead.

Pieczonka received an honorary degree — Doctor of Music, honoris causa (D.Mus.) — at Alumni Hall as part of Western’s 300th convocation this week.

“I did not attend my original convocation. I moved to Europe and started my career in Vienna, Austria. This is kind of my first ‘homecoming.’ So it’s very meaningful,” Pieczonka said before the ceremony.

Pieczonka is acclaimed as one of the most renowned opera singers of her generation and has sung in the world’s major opera houses from La Scala to Covent Garden, from the Met to the Vienna State Opera.

Looking back 30 years and more, the 1985 Western graduate and 2010 Juno winner recalled singing in choirs directed by the late Deral Johnson, recitals and Gilbert & Sullivan productions such as The Gondoliers during her studies.

”Never had the lead. Was in the chorus,” she said of the GS&S. “I just tried to do everything and get involved with a lot of stuff.”

Toronto-tied Pieczonka is staying in London on Saturday to join in celebrations for 2011 and 2012’s Don Wright music faculty Alumni Wall of Fame inductees. Pieczonka was inducted several years ago, but had to miss that ceremony.

She’s to be back in London on Nov. 30 joining pianist Stephen Ralls in a Jeffery Concerts series recital at the LPL’s Wolf Performance Hall.

Ever since that career move to Vienna in the 1980s, the soprano has been busy.

“I’m booked until 2016, ’17 in terms of my operatic commitments so that takes me around world,” she said.

Her 2012-2013 season offered a reprisal of the role of Senta in Torino earlier this month, and has Ariadne auf Naxos in Hamburg and Munich, Tosca and Otello in Berlin.

She makes her role debut as Madame Lidoine in Dialogue des Carmelites at Toronto’s Canadian Opera Company next May and performs Verdi’s Requiem in Hamburg.

The summer of 2013 has her as Chrysothemis in a new production of Elektra at the Aix-en-Provence Festival.

In future seasons, Pieczonka will be at London, England’s Royal Opera House Covent Garden, as well as Toronto, Vienna and New York.

Pieczonka turns 50 next year and said that has her in the mood to look ahead.

“I’m getting into teaching myself. I do want a future in that,” she said. “I had wonderful teachers,” she said mentioning retired Wright faculty professor Alvin Reimer and U of T’s Mary Morrison. “They are my mentors and I want to follow in those footsteps and give back to the young students.”

Next year, she will lead public masterclasses at Toronto.

And, after that for the soprano just awarded a Doctor of Music, honoris causa (D.Mus.)?

“It’s a mixed bag of keep performing, keep doing new roles, keep at it, and then also this natural progression of getting into teaching and getting a balance,” the soprano said.